DOJ probes whether Binance knowingly processed Iran sanctions-linked trades
Federal prosecutors are examining whether Binance knowingly processed trades tied to Iran, a probe that lands on an exchange still controlling 38.7% of trading volume among the top ten centralized platforms. For institutional investors already tightening compliance screens on custodians, the inquiry arrives as Washington moves to treat crypto itself as a sanctionable sector.
- The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DOJ Criminal Division are jointly investigating whether Binance knowingly served Iran-based traders, Reuters reported.
- SDNY filed a civil forfeiture complaint for about $61 million tied to a network prosecutors say moved more than $1.5 billion in sanctioned Iranian oil proceeds.
- Binance says its exposure to four major Iranian exchanges fell 97.3% over two years, from $4.19 million to $110,000, while a Coinbase/EY-Parthenon survey found 66% of institutions now cite compliance as a top custodian criterion, up from 25% a year earlier.
- 38.7% Binance’s share of top-10 exchange trading volume
- $61M SDNY forfeiture target versus $1.5B Iranian oil network
- 66% institutions naming compliance a top custody factor, up from 25%
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